The present invention relates to railings, and more particularly to an improved railing assembly in which a panel such as a glass panel is mounted vertically above a floor support surface by a base assembly.
A structural glass rail system includes vertical glass panels with bottom edges that are secured to a floor surface by a base support assembly. The top edges of the glass panels may support a top rail or handrail. Transparent or translucent glass panels provide an attractive appearance that is desirable to architects and designers as well as owners and users of commercial spaces and homes. However the appeal of structural glass rail systems has been limited by the difficulty and cost of installing known systems and the costs and inconvenience of repairing a damaged or marred glass panel after the initial installation. There is a long-standing but unfilled need for a structural glass panel rail system that is easy to install, relatively inexpensive, attractive and easy to repair.
In a typical known structural glass panel system cement is used to hold the glass panels in place. A receiving shoe is secured to a floor directly or by means of a support angle bracket. The shoe includes a pocket for receiving the bottom edge of a glass panel. After the shoe is in place, a glass panel is placed into the pocket, often on top of rubber spacers that hold the panel above fasteners or sharp edges that could cause breakage. Other spacers and/or wooden wedges are used at the sides to center the panel in the groove and to hold it temporarily in a vertical position. A quick setting cement is poured into the groove in the shoe in a two step process. After cement partly fills the groove and sets, the temporary wedges or spacers are removed, and the filling of the groove is completed in a second step. A cover or caulking is used to cover the cement and provide an acceptable appearance. The installation requires much skilled labor and time. Leakage and spillage of wet cement is a problem because it is difficult to completely seal the groove. Stairs and inclines add to these problems. In order to replace a panel, it must be broken out and the remaining edge and cement must be extracted with tools.
A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved railing system of the type including structural flat panels such as glass panels. Other objects are to provide a railing system that can be installed quickly and without special tools; to provide a railing system that can be assembled on site without the necessity for factory pre-assembly operations; to provide a railing assembly that does not require concrete and does not require fasteners for holding parts of the assembly together; to provide a railing assembly that can be installed using an existing type of base member; to provide a railing assembly that is attractive in appearance and that is not expensive to make or install; to provide a railing base assembly that can be disassembled for replacement of a panel; and to provide a railing assembly that overcomes disadvantages of known railing systems.
In brief, in accordance with the invention there is provided a railing system for permanently mounting a railing panel having a peripheral edge and opposed planar side faces. An elongated base includes an elongated support groove defined in the base. An elongated channel member receiving the edge of the panel. The channel member has a generally U-shaped cross section including a base portion and opposed side walls overlying the opposed faces of the panel. The channel member and the edge of the panel are received in the elongated support groove. A wedge system in the elongated support groove locks th channel member and the edge of the panel into the elongated support groove.